


A Hero's Duty

by Jake_Jakers



Category: Naruto, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Action & Romance, Adorable Midoriya Izuku, Ashido Mina Shipper, Crossover, F/M, Nervous Ochako, nervous izuku
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-09-30 02:56:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17215685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jake_Jakers/pseuds/Jake_Jakers
Summary: Every fall season, Japan holds the Hero Festival. Kids love the fun rides. Teenagers love romantic lighting at night. Everyone loves getting to meet Pro Heroes, from retired heroes to young up-and-comers. And with U.A. students getting in for free, Izuku might finally get to go to one. Provided, of course, he lives long enough to visit.





	1. The Early Bird

**Author's Note:**

> ...Only Four Weeks late on this one. Well, better late than never. Please enjoy the remake of the first MHA story I wrote (It's labeled "The Original End of Autumn" on my profile if you're interested).

On a Thursday morning in late October, Izuku Midoriya was running down the familiar but barren streets of Japan at breakneck speeds. His hometown to be exact, and he was running with a precise purpose in mind. He wasn’t running to let the cold morning air wake him up since his undying passion for hero-work was all the stimuli he needed, nor was it to build muscle mass since the Aim To Pass American Dream Plan left him in the best shape of his life. Could it be for early morning hero work? Izuku **_does_ ** keep his eyes peeled for anyone who may need his help (be it villains or otherwise); yet it would appear that you are only ever out-and-about this early in the morning if you absolutely have to be, or if you’re Izuku Midoriya. And it couldn’t even be for the challenge of running so far so quick since his quirk made that trivial.

 

His quirk - that was the answer. With every step he took, small green sparks emitted from his red shoes. However, Izuku eventually stopped moving outright, turned around and stared at the direction which he came. “Mmm…” Izuku was thinking out loud again, but no one was around to hear him so it hardly matters. He took a look at his phone to check the time - 6:30 am. “Okay, so if my math is correct, then me covering this distance in an hour puts my speed at three percent at roughly twenty miles per hour.” Izuku isn’t sure how learning the Imperial System will make tracking One For All any easier, but All Might said it would and he understand the quirk better than Izuku does. Even then, kilometers to miles is about all Izuku has figured out. “But even then, if I want to know how much of a change that is by, then I need to do more tests.” Izuku turned back around and started walking towards a beach he knew all too well as he began to mutter about his new training method.

 

“So, if I want to make it back in time for school then I need to run back faster than I got here and my best bet is to try and go for six percent. That way I can compare the two times and get an idea if One for All’s power grows at a linear or exponential rate. Of course, there might not be any correlation between the percentage levels, and it took me a good two weeks for failed attempts to get three percent right so odds are I be able to jump right into a one percent interval increase in the first place.” Izuku violently shook his head and then smashed his fist into his palm, his face overcame with determination. “No! I need to get this quirk under complete control! There might come a day where I need to stop a villain without hurting them too badly, or-” Izuku’s mind went back to the first time he and Bakugan fought in their U.A. hero training. “Actually, a few times already came up and I was helpless to do anything.”

 

Izuku’s walking eventually lead him to the parking lot of the beach, but he didn’t realize it right away since he was still wondering how to get back in time while still measuring his quirk and his plans for the rest of the day. “Maybe I should just focus on getting back on time? I mean, Ochako and Iida invited me to go shopping after school since the weekend will be too busy for anything fun **_or_ ** productive to get done.” Izuku felt his back pocket to make sure he still had his money - what little there was. “Besides, we need the weekend to do our reports for All Might’s class, and I still don’t have any idea which hero to do my report on-”

 

“Honey, I’m fine.”

 

Izuku quickly covered his mouth as he became self-conscious of the world around him once more. A few meters in front of him was a grey Sedan with a tall, lean woman with short black hair leaning against it facing the beach.

 

“Look, I just ran out of gas, okay? It’s nothing. I was running on fumes but I just wanted to see the beach we went on our first date on is all. No, you’re **_not_ **coming down here just to get a can of gas! You are an officer of the law! And in case you forgot who your wife is, I’m a pro-hero with a fire quirk! I can handle the cold for a few hours.” The woman stopped to breathe in before continuing. “Look, I’ll text you if something changes but you know where to find me tonight when you get off work. See ya - love ya - bye.” The woman put her phone away and leaned further back against the sedan and she observed the beach, with the rising sun giving it an almost golden glow. “Man, it seems like our first day of high school was just yesterday.” Suddenly, she shot her head up, straightened herself out and turned around to look at Izuku.

 

Izuku, true to his instincts, properly freaked out and held his arms up to hide his face.

 

“Sorry, young man - I didn’t see you there.”

 

“ **_I-didn’t-mean-to-eavesdrop-on-you-I-swear-I’m-sorry-I’m-sorry-I’m-sorry-I’m-_ **”

 

“Woah, calm down.” The woman started walking towards him, and as Izuku took her advice he finally got a good look at her face - her eyes were as black as her hair and she had a pair of glasses. Given how smooth her face was, she couldn’t be any older than twenty years old. She wore a red long-sleeve shirt and black sweatpants with matching black tennis shoes. “Now before we talk about what you blurted out there, how about introductions?”

 

“R-right!” Izuku took a moment to regain his composure before extending his hand out to her. “I’m Izuku Midoriya of U.A. - pleased to meet you.”

 

The woman didn’t immediately shake his hand though but instead folded her arms and looked at him. “U.A. you say? Mmm… sure you are. Little far away from your home away from home, aren’t ya?”

 

Izuku went right back to shaking in his shoes. “W-w-well, yeah. I-I am.”

 

“So, I’m to believe that a U.A. is well over thirty kilometers away from the school on the morning of a school day for no reason?”

 

“No! Of course not! Not for no reason! I was practicing my quirk!”

 

“Fair enough.” She leaned forward to get a better look at him. “Care to tell me what your quirk is?”

 

“Uh…” Izuku just couldn’t catch a break with this woman. “It’s-It’s nothing, especially compared to your quirk.”

 

She raised an eyebrow at that. “What makes you say that?”

 

“Because you were Heatblast - the Volcano Hero!”

 

The woman smiled as she placed her hands on her hips. “I guess that saves me an introduction. Heard about me?”

 

“I-I read a story on you a while back, yeah.” Izuku once again held out his hand, but this time she did shake him. “It’s an honor to meet a pro-hero like yourself.” After they stopped shaking, Izuku spoke up. “Oh, about your car, I’d like to help with that.”

 

“Thanks, kid, but unless you have a quirk that lets you spit gasoline I’m afraid there’s not much to be done.”

 

“I-I can’t do that, but I do know where a gas station is!” She looked at him with a look of pleasant surprise. “I used to live here - there’s one not too far from here! I could walk and get you a can of gas if you want.”

 

She walked up to him and started to rub her hands through his unkempt hair. “Well, aren’t **_you_ ** just an outright gentleman?” Izuku’s can was now glowing a bright red, which admittedly contrasted rather well to his green hair. “But please, don’t worry about it.” The woman had fire shoot from out of her hand, only for it to be engulfed in flames. This naturally caught Izuku off guard. “I’m just out of gas for a while, and staying warm isn’t exactly a challenge for me. Something this petty isn’t worth troubling yourself over - just focus on getting back to U.A. on time, okay?”

 

At this point, some select words began to echo through Izuku’s head; when he had finally managed to get his U.A. Test results and discovered that he indeed had passed. To be more precise, when he discovered **_why_ ** he was allowed. He failed to defeat a single villain, but his willingness to save some girl alone got him into the course.

 

_“What kind of hero course would reject someone willing to help others, no matter the consequences?”_

 

Izuku clenched his fist as he spoke up. “ **_I’m helping you!_ **” The woman was clearly taken aback but allowed him to explain himself. “It’s not a matter of time or worthiness! Not to a hero, anyway!” He stopped looking at her and stared at the ground as he thought back to even earlier - thought back to what All Might said on the very beach they were on right before his training.

 

_“Heroes these days are all about fighting crime and fighting flashy villains! But heroes used to be about helping the community! Even if it was a little boring!”_

 

“A **_real_ ** hero doesn’t see insignificant problems! They see people who need their help!”

 

Izuku started blushing again, namely because he just screamed at a pro-hero. Much to his surprise, she was actually smiling.“Mind turning around for a minute?” Izuku had no clue why she was asking this, but any excuse to not make eye contact as he tries to regain control of his blood pressure was fine by him. Right as he finally got his skin back to its normal pigment she told him he could turn around.

 

She had put on part of her Heatblast costume, which had brown combat boots and a black-blue jumpsuit. Over that was a red sleeveless vest. Back when she was known as Heat Blast, she’d put on an eye mask and be ready to roll. But instead of any mask, she was also wearing a long white trench coat with flames on the back, and a red diamond hat. Said hat had a smaller white diamond in the front with a red kanji for “fire.”

 

Izuku saw a gas can in her hand, but she pulled it away as he reached for it. “Lead the way, hero.”

 

“You-you’re coming with me?”

 

“Well, it’d be rude to have you go alone, and I also would rather be there in case something happens or goes wrong.”

 

“T-there’s no reason for that!” Izuku felt himself flare up once more, although not as bad as before. “I-I promise I can handle myself, and I doubt that-”

 

“Oh no, you don’t tell me this isn’t an issue that can just be ignored and then stop me from showing the same concern, buddy!” She was clearly expecting Izuku to respond that was and was also enjoying herself if her smile was anything to go by.

 

Trapped by his own logic, Izuku sighed and smiled. “Okay, you win. Let’s get going. It should only be a ten-minute walk.” And so alongside a pro hero, Izuku began his most mundane hero work to date.

 

“Mr… Midoriya, right?”

 

“Izuku will do.”

 

“Right, Izuku.” Heatblast adjusted her hat with her free hand. “You said that I **_was_ ** the hero Heat Blast, as in the past tense?”

 

“Well, yeah! You’re the new Flaming Shadow, right?” Izuku couldn’t help but feel a little proud at her confirming he was right since the event wasn’t well publicized. “I...I didn’t call you that since I figured you were probably sick of only being known by that.”

 

“Aw, how sweet of you.” Izuku felt his blush return again. “But actually, most people nowadays only know I’m a pro hero if they catch me in the middle of some heroics. So really, I don’t mind it.” It was hard for him to not feel bad for her. All Might’s debut too a lot of wind away from the Flaming Shadow legacy since even the strongest of them never could even hope to compare to the symbol of peace in terms of flashiness, heroic statistics, or media appearances. By the time Heatblast was stated to be the next hero, the public had so little interest left that the story was taken off the front page of news sites the next day. Considering that Flaming Shadow was one of the first Quirk-Based heroes, it kind of bothered him. “Actually, I never did tell you my name, did I?”

 

Izuku was snapped back to reality. “Oh, there’s no need to! A pro hero should-”

 

“-Always be referred to by their hero name. I know. But a pro-hero should also never see themselves as better than others, right?” Izuku nodded to this fact. “So, since I’m calling you by your first name, call me by mine - Sadara.”

 

“O-ok, Sadara.” After that, small talk began to form between the two. Namely about their respective high school careers, which lead to Izuku mentioning that the first Flaming Shadow was at one point a subject of their studies since he did help lay some of the groundwork for the legality of modern heroics. Upon hearing this, Sadara quickly asked if Izuku was up for a quick quiz on the Flaming Shadow Legacy. Izuku agreed to it; not because he knew everything about it but because the twinkle in Sadara’s eyes hinted that she doesn’t get to talk about this very often anymore.

 

Izuku did alright, although if it was an academic test he certainly wouldn’t have passed. He was correct in some things (Flaming Shadow originates from the Besbin Village, there have been eight Flames Shadows if one includes Sadara, and the hero title does not hold any quirks or powers) but got some other details completely wrong (apparently the role had been turned down at least twice, someone tried to steal the title but died before claiming it, and he only got the three of the eight names right of what the heroes were called before they became Flaming Shadow). The verbal test did make the walk feel shorter than it was, as before either had realized it they had arrived at the gas station.

 

They had to go inside to pay before being allowed to pump; people using their quirks to steal are never the ones who suffer but rather those who follow the law being forced through more inconveniences and restrictions, but that’s how it is. “Um… Sadara? Did you forget your purse.”

 

“What? No, I don’t use handbags,” The pro-hero started to reach into the pockets of her trench coat, “they’re too easily stolen; I just use a wallet for my cash.” This was followed by Sadara checking her pants pockets before Izuku asked the obvious.

 

“Did you forget your wallet?”

 

“Uh… there’s a _slight chance_ that I _may_ have left it in my sweatpants.”

 

The cashier was more than willing to refuse service to someone without money, even if they’re pro-heroes. Whereas Sadara was mental beating herself up for forgetting something so basic, Izuku reached into his back pocket and pulled out his own money. It wasn’t much, but it was all that he had and he’s probably not going to be allowed to leave U.A. as a punishment for being late anyway. Before Sadara even got a syllable of objection out of her mouth, Izuku held up his hand to halt her as he offered the cashier his money. “Will this be enough to get some gas?”

 

After getting a nod, the two heroes went out to fill up the red can. Well, it wouldn’t be filled up so much as just add a little bit to the can, but it’ll be enough to get Sadara’s car running and that’s enough.

 

As the pump stopped giving them gas, Sadara turned to Izuku. “You didn’t have to give him your money; I could have walked back and get my wall-”

 

“It’s nothing, really.”

 

Sadara and Izuku didn’t discuss this any further and simply walked away. However, Sadara did still have a question. “Say, Izuku, why did you go to the beach specifically when you were on your jog? Like, why not anywhere else?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t look like the romantic type.”

 

Izuku lost his ability to breath for a split second but ultimately agreed. “Y-you're not wrong there.”

 

“Shame,” Sadara suddenly put her free arm around Izuku. “My sister in law is in high school as well, and you’re **_just_ ** her type.” Izuku’s body dashed forward to escape her, stopping a few paces forward to catch his breath as his lungs forgot how to breathe. Sadara didn’t find it weird; she was too busy snorting from laughter to care. Once both regained their composure, Izuku explained that he used the beach to train for roughly a year. However, he left out any details of All Might or of the beach being trashed.

 

“Okay, my turn.” Izuku felt a little concerned when Sadara shot him a look that clearly said ‘hit me with your best shot’ but he went on anyway. “What exactly are you doing here? Besbin isn’t exactly just a train ride away?”

 

“Good question. There are a few reasons, but the one you might care about is the Hero Festival!” Izuku had never been to one before since one was never hosted close enough to his house. Erjiro said it was a truly manly event, Mina said there’s plenty of romantic rides, and Mineta brought up there was plenty of great foods on display (among _other_ things). “My Dad-In-Law and I came over here for the festival. And my husband has been transferred over here to help with any villains.”

 

And from there on out, the rest of the conversation was dominated by Sadara talking about her husband. It was also at that point Izuku truly admired Sadara. Her husband was completely quirkless, despite being the son of the previous Flaming Shadow. Despite that, she spoke of him as Izuku would of All Might. She happily went on about how he’s a skilled marksman who can unload a pistol in literally seconds, how he build a grappling hook to help scale buildings when needed (and how he can scale them with shocking ease). He’s apparently a black belt and knows how to use several knives and short swords with ease. He even has some gadgets for certain quirk users. They lived in a world of comic superheroes, and Izuku was ready to believe Sadara married Batman.

 

The two got back to the car, and Sadara put the tenth of a tank Izuku could afford. The moment the can was empty, Sadara put it back from the trunk and retrieved her forgotten wallet from her sweatpants. “Izuku… Thank you.”

 

“No problem.” Izuku managed to keep his composure. Sadara pulled out her wallet only for Izuku to stop her. “No, there’s no need to repay me! I didn’t do this for rewards.”

 

Sadara rolled her eyes as if she knew this would happen and put her wallet away. “Well then, how about a ride back to U.A.? I have to stop by the academy anyway. I could explain what happened if ya want?”

 

Izuku ultimately agreed; running the situation through his head made him realize how rude it’d be to deny her offer at this point. The ride had them go back to the gas station to fuel up the rest of the tank, but when Sadara went in to pay she didn’t come back for a while nor did she come back empty handed. No, those hand had a dozen Krispy Kremes split into two bags and two glass of orange juice. Izuku jumped out to grab the drinks and get the drivers door for her.

 

“Thanks, Izuku.”

 

“No, No! Thank you!” Izuku took a large sip of his orange juice. “So, I take it you’re hungry?” _‘That didn’t come out quite right.’_

 

“I haven’t had breakfast. Neither have you.”

 

“What makes you think I’m hun-” Izuku’s stomach roared at the worst possible time, robbing him of any argument.against a free breakfast. So he silently ate the doughnuts from his bag (normal glazed, which he was fine with) and sipping from his drink with the occasional question about Flaming Shadows Legacy to pass the time. And there was plenty of time to pass, with every light seeming to stop them.

 

Eventually, the two made it back to U.A. With the school itself lacking a proper parking lot, they had to stop at a nearby firm. Once both hopped out, Sadara went into the trunk and pulled out a book. It was thick and had a pink rubber sleeve over the book itself. She pulled a U.A. guest pass from her wallet and turned to her new friend. “Okay, let’s go.”

 

Izuku ended up being a few minutes late, but he was surprisingly okay with this; he was more concerned with having to cancel plans with Ochako and Iida. But he put it aside from his mind as they walking into the building. “Hey, Izuku - do you know which way to the principal’s office?” Izuku just pointed the direction she should head before running to his room to get his uniform. He quickly realized the information he gave her was useless, and so he turned around to give her proper directions. However, upon giving her these instructions, she still didn’t move but rather kept staring at her book. Izuku asked her if she was okay, at which she didn’t respond. Izuku decided to stay for a second in case something **_was_ ** wrong. But to his momentary relief, she turned to him and thanked him. But right as he was ready to leave, she said “Izuku, can I ask one more favor of you?” The green-haired hero nodded and she held the book out to him. “Can you look after this for me?” Izuku turned his head sideways in confusion. “You can read it if you don’t post what’s in there online. Just hold onto it for now, and read if you care - which I’m pretty sure you will.”

 

Izuku just nodded as he grabbed the book. Sadara took a few paces before she broke eye contact and started walking away. Izuku turned around and began walking to his dorm to get his school uniform. “I’m not terribly late, so Aizawa probably won’t be too hard with my punishment.” Before Izuku devoted himself to the day, he decided to give a quick peek into the book and see what the big deal is. The title alone on the first page left him giddy:

 

**_Besbin Village Hero Historia: Volume Eight_ **

**_A comprehensive listing of heroes from the Besbin Village Hero Training Course, including the entire legacy of Flaming Shadow_ **

 

Izuku had just been entrusted with an encyclopedia of no less than 100 heroes. While he knew that he would need to keep an eye on this, he also couldn’t shake the feeling Christmas came early.


	2. Class In Session

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> General Shenanigans at U.A. Izuku gets questioned over his new possession, and things fail to get any easier from there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way too long to do. Hopefully, my next story won't take as long.

Ochako sat in her homeroom as her teach Shota Aizawa took attendance. Ochako’s seat allowed her to easily to turn around and see who was/wasn’t present before her half-asleep sensei could, and naturally, she’d check to see if her five closest friends were there first. With her in the front was Iida, Mina, and Tsu. And in the back row hosted the other two. Tooru, who was only visible by her clothes, and Izuku Midoriya who-

“So, has anyone seen Midoriya?”

-wasn’t there at all. There were a bunch of murmurs around the classroom, but no one answered the question. Aizawa looked ready to speak, but his phone vibrated with a text message. Ochako was expecting him to go on about how it’s not rational to call up a teacher during school hours, but no such thing happened. He simply responded to the text message and turned his attention back to his class.

“Well if no one has seen him, he’s absent.” He got out of his chair and grabbed his favorite sleeping bag. “Class will start in a few minutes with Mathematics. See you this afternoon for Hero Training.”

As soon as he left the classroom erupted into an open discussion on whatever anyone felt like talking about, with students getting up and dividing into their social clicks. Before she had a chance to get up, Iida was already up beside her with Tsu and Mina.

“Do you think Midoriya is okay?”

Ochako retorted with the first thing to come to mind. “I’m sure he’s fine, Iida. I doubt anything could have happened since last night.”

“ _Ribbit_ I don’t know, Izuku might have finally learned how to break bones in his sleep.”

Mina giggled at that, but Ochako didn’t find her frog friend’s remark all that funny; it never gets any easier having to see Izuku lying on a bed after a near-death experience. Quite the opposite of being humorous, far too often she thought it’d be the last time she’d see him.

Iida put this hand on his chin and intensely pondered on where his friend could be. “It’s hard to imagine anything besides being hurt that would stop such a devote student of our class from attending. The only thing that could possibly hold him back without injury would be working with Mei again.”

For a split second, visiting Izuku in a hospital sounded like a delightful afternoon. Thankfully, Mina stopped that train of thought. “I think we’re overthinking this; he probably just slept through his alarm. He’ll be running through that door any second now.”

Right on cue, a familiar green-haired boy slid the door open. “ **_I’m here!_ **”

Kirishima turned his head towards the door. “Well hey! If it isn’t Small Might himself! Glad you made it, man!”

Sero was also looking, smiling as usual. “Yeah, some of us were getting worried you somehow got hurt again.”

Ochako took that as a sign they were having a similar conversation; Denki, Jiro, and especially Momo were happy to see him return.

“I didn’t doubt him for a second!” Mina was all too happy to yell that as she pushed herself to the front of their small little group. Still, Ochako was happy to see Izuku wasn’t hurt.

“Midoriya!” Iida walked up to the wheezing Izuku. “Is everything okay? It’s not like you to be late.”

“Yeah, _Ribbit_ that’s normally Denki trying to flirt.”

“Sorry, did a morning jog but things got out of hand.” Izuku started to rub the back of his hand. “I thought I had enough time…”

Izuku’s voice faded out for her as Ochako found herself staring at her awkward friend; his innocence had always been so captivating. Every time his friends talked about him, from Iida to talking about heroes needing to watch the clock to Tsu taking Deku’s side, his face would light up ever so slightly. It made his messy green hair stand out, and the two factors complimented each other well.

“Say, Izuku!” Mina clapped her hands together and brought Ochako out of her inner thoughts, “What’s that you got there?”

Izuku held up the pink book he was holding, and then had a look of pure embarrassment on his face. He hid it behind between his back and backpack. “Uh, n-nothing!”

Tsu didn’t think it was nothing. “So, who gave it to you?”

“Huh?”

“Who gave it to you? Pink isn’t exactly your color.”

Izuku’s eyes started to dart around, desperately trying to avoid eye contact. Ochako’s were focused squarely on the book that he didn’t seem to realize she could see it. The fact the rubber cover is pink kept striking her as something important for some reason.

“I-it was a gift. Y-you see, I was helping someone today while I was jogging, and she gave me this as a thank-”

“OOH!” Mina was bouncing up and down happily. “It’s a diary! Who gave it to you!? Was it Momo? It was Momo, wasn’t it!”

Izuku tried desperately to convince Mina it wasn’t such a thing, but he also refused to let her read any of it. That convinced Mina that she must be right, and Ochako was inclined to believe her. And a certain idea found its way into her mind. While Ochako didn’t see Momo having any interest in Izuku, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking of Mei handing him her diary.

_“If we’re going to be making babies, we shouldn’t keep secrets!”_ Mei is a nice person, but sometimes Ochako really wished she never overheard her talk with Izuku.

Ochako started to go red, but she looked positively tame compared the Izuku who seemed to be failing to convince Mina of what the book was (or wasn’t). Everyone in the group (and room) stopped talking as Iida raised his voice. “Listen, if Midoriya doesn’t feel comfortable explaining what the book is, then he doesn’t have to. As students, heroes, and friends we are to respect his privacy just as he respects ours!”

Izuku was clearly relieved to hear this and immediately ran to his desk in the back of the class. Most of the class went about discussions as usual until Ectoplasm came in.

For the pre-lunch classes, a pattern emerged. A teacher came in, questioned how Izuku could be absent, which led profuse apologies from the green-haired boy and then class went on as normal. This would have been great if not for a text Izuku sent her at the end of math class.

**_Izuku:_ ** _I’ll tell you and Iida about the book at lunch, but you guys can’t tell anyone._

Ochako’s mind kept running back to what she imagined earlier, except now it involves a certain pink-haired girl awaiting her in the lunchroom with her arms wrapped around her best friend as the two profess that they’re going out. Every time this image came to mind, Ochako would think to tomorrow when she finally gets to enjoy some time with both of her parents. That thought helped her get through her morning classes. But she couldn’t deny the sinking feeling in her stomach.

* * *

Izuku packed up his books (placing the Hero Historia in his backpack this time) and got ready to leave for lunch. As usual, everyone had left before him. He was never in much of a hurry either way; his friends will still be in the lunchroom no matter how long he took. Right as he was getting up to leave, his phone went off.

**_Mina:_ ** _Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone about your special book. Still, care to say who the lucky lady is?_

Izuku audibly sighed, rolled his eyes and texted her back.

**_Izuku:_ ** _For the last time, it’s not a diary. Why do you think that’s what it is, anyway?_

He put his phone back into his pocket and walked out into the hallway with his bag. “That girl, I swear.”

“Hey, Izuku.” It was Momo, who was right outside the door.

“Oh, hello Momo! Everything okay?”

“Yeah, fine.” Izuku couldn’t help but notice that her voice seemed meeker than usual. “Um… not to pry and all, but who were you talking about?”

“Huh?” Izuku thought for a moment before decided he could probably tell Momo this. “Oh, just Mina. She was a book I had, and after saying some woman gave it to me-” Momo looked a little sad upon hearing that “-she became convinced that I have a girlfriend or something.”

Momo’s smile returned and she nodded lightly. “Yeah, Mina can be a little silly when it comes to that sort of thing.” Momo took a moment to readjust her skirt (Izuku forced himself not to look). “I guess it’s with the festival starting tomorrow.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah. They say it’s a romantic thing and all.”

“I wouldn’t know.” Izuku smiled as he and Momo chuckled. “I’ve never been to one.”

“Oh really?” He noticed she rubbed her legs together, but thankfully she didn’t. “Seems like something you’d love.”

“Well, it’s not that, it’s just-” Izuku then realized that he’d be telling one of the wealthiest girls in school that he could never afford to travel to one; the last thing he wanted to do was come off as begging for money so he decided to just stare off to the side (that usually works anyway).

“Well, would you like to go?” Izuku’s eyes went straight back to her with enough force to fly out. He refused to believe he heard what he just did. “Y-you know, with me?”

“AHAHAH!” Izuku fell to the ground and scooted fiercely to the wall. He heard her say something to the effect of “That’s so-” but the rest was lost on him since his brain was shutting down all non-essential functionality to focus on the situation at hand. After trying to tell himself that it’s nothing and she’s just wanting to hang out, he involuntarily let out a “Why me?”

“Why you?” Izuku covered his mouth, realizing what he said out loud. “Well, the point of dating is to get to know someone better.”

_‘Right, right - stay calm stay calm stay calm.’_ Staying Calm wasn’t exactly part of the Deku skill set. “S-so, you want to g-go with m-me to the f-f-festival?” Momo crouched down to his level with a smile as she nodded. Izuku gulped heavily, as he had a sinking feeling in his stomach that this wasn’t going to go well. “R-Right. Well, I’d certainly like to, b-but I’m not sure I can.”

“Ah, I should have figured.” Izuku titled his head sideways as he and Momo started to stand up. “So, you asked Ochako out already?”

“ **_Wh-what?!_ ** ” Izuku’s face turned red again for a second, unable to understand how Momo could have come to that conclusion. “ _Nononononono!_ ” Now it was Momo’s turn to title her head in confusion. “It’s not that, Momo!” Izuku’s face returned to normal as he spoke. “It’s just, I might have some stuff to do this weekend. I’d need to make sure I can clear up Friday.” Momo smiled as she hugged Deku (who had some trouble breathing thanks to where his head ended up). Separating with Izuku getting some air, Izuku decided to end the conversation. “If I can get Friday free, and no one else asks you, then yes I’ll go with you.”

Smiling and accepting that answer, Momo and Izuku headed to the lunch room. “Say, Izuku - what were you and Mina talking about this morning?”

“Oh, just a book I brought; Mina was convinced it had to be yours.”

“Oh jeez…” Momo facepalmed as they continued walking. “I was joking last night…” Izuku smiled and laughed, and the two entered the lunchroom. Momo did a double take as Izuku didn’t head to get some food but straight to the tables. “Izuku? Are you not hungry?”

“Huh? Oh, no. I mean yes! I mean no! No, I’m not!”

Momo grabbed him by the arms and dragged him to the cafe. “Come on. If you’re out of money, I’ll cover ya.”

Izuku wanted to object and not force Momo to cover for his own decisions this morning, but he wanted to eat more. Izuku got some white rice and tempura, with a side of apples; Momo left him with a decent sum of money on his cafe balance.¹ As the two had their food, the finally left for their usual tables.

“Ah, Midoriya!” Iida was happy to welcome Izuku to the table. Ochako looked to be in some deep thought. “Are you doing okay? You seem to be having trouble keeping up with your schedules today.”

“Oh, yeah. Don’t worry, Momo just had something to ask.” Ochako gave a quick look up and seemed a little taken aback. Her face seemed to be tense, concerned and had a hint of dread to it. Neither Iida nor Ochako pressured him into explaining, so he decided to keep his conversation with Momo to himself. “It all worked out.” Izuku then remembered what he promised them earlier, and looked around the room. With no one paying much attention, he pulled his backpack out and grabbed the Hero Historia.

“Oh right! You said you’d tell us about that?”

“ _Shhhh!_ ” Izuku’s head started darting around again, but thankfully no one overheard Iida. “I can, but don’t go telling anyone about this. I trust both of you with this.” Izuku leaned in. “And plus, this book is really cool.” Ochako looked intensely, with Izuku clearly having her undivided attention; Iida was also compelled to know more. Izuku’s voice lowered to a whisper. “This book is a collective history of Pro Underground heroes.”

For some strange reason, Ochako face lost all tension and she fell back into her seat, letting out a sigh of relief. Izuku had **_no_ ** idea what was going through Ochako’s mind, but he was happy to see her smile again. On the other hand, Iida was staring at it with the utmost intensity. “Ah, really? That’s rather important then. I can now see why you were so reserved about letting anyone read it.” Iida started to rub his chin. “May I ask what you’ve found in it?”

“Well… I'm not exactly supposed to repeat anything in it - but there’s some really interesting stuff here!” Izuku took a massive bite of his food. “If we ever have some free time alone, I could probably tell you two about the stuff in here!”

This time Ochako spoke. “But you just said-”

“I trust both of you.” Both gave him a smile as the trio continued their food (Iida actually finished his). “Say, Iida - are you heading to the festival this weekend?”

“Of course I am!” Iida’s voice raised a bit, although the lunchroom was more than used to this. “As the Class 1-A representative, I shall be there to give the best impression on behalf of our fellow students. I’ve worked all week to help set up!”

Ochako pumped her fist into the air. “Yeah, so we can hang out after school today, right?”

“Yes!” Iida adjusted his glasses. “It’s important to take responsibility for the future, right Midoriya?”

“R-right, about that.” Both turned to look at Izuku. “I… can’t tag along today. I’m broke.” Izuku took his time to explain how he spent what money he had on the woman he helped. He didn’t say that it was a pro hero, as he didn’t see that as relevant information. Izuku went back to eating his lunch (with just a hint of sulking, despite his best efforts).

“Well, I can-”

“No.” Izuku had already had to borrow money from Momo, having his best friend have to cover for a shopping trip wasn’t ideal.

“Seriously Midoriya, it’s nothing.” Iida went on about having cash on hand for the weekend, and so he could cover them. Izuku continued to eat his lunch while trying not to give in. “Seriously Midoriya, if you were willing to give up your cash for someone else, shouldn’t I be will to do the same?”

Iida wasn’t wrong. Izuku now understood why Sadara was so reluctant to accept any help. Then, Ochako chimed in.

“Please, Deku?” She put her hands together and looked him in the eyes. “It wouldn’t be as fun without you.”

“Indeed.” Iida agreed.

_‘Damn it.’_ “Well… if you insist…”

“Yes!” Ochako pumped her arms. Iida just smiled. Everyone finished their food and went to the second half of the day.

* * *

“Alright class, a good day of work,” Aizawa said in his usual deadpanned voice to his outside class. For them, hearing a compliment from their relentless teacher was the only reprieve of the day. Courtesy of Cementoss, the class had a complex training course of walls that had to be scaled, destroyed, moved, or protected. And for some, it took its toll. Mineta’s head was bleeding, Yuga’s stomach cramped, Ochako upchucked what was left of her lunch, and Denki was sent to recovery girl after a wall gave out on him (which may or may not have been Bakugo’s fault) alongside Tooru (who became so desperate to knock a wall over she punched it until her fists started to crack). On the flip side, the usual top four (Shoto, Momo, Iida, and Izuku) didn’t look much worse for wear. “Now, tomorrow’s class won’t be as easy, so be sure to bring your A-game then.” Aizawa then walked up to Midoriya. “By the way, meet me in the principal’s office after the bell rings. We have some things to talk about.”

Most of the class assumed this was about Eri. When at the school dorms, she always stayed with Aizawa or Izuku. As for her location away from U.A., only the staff and Izuku seem to know. Well, most assumed Iida and Ochako knew (he seems to tell them almost everything) but those two were great secret keepers (Iida would straight up say he’d never reveal such information if he knew, and asking Ochako to share a secret is like asking Mina to keep one).

“Alright, that’s it today. See you all tomorrow.” Everyone went back into the U.A. building. Aizawa went to the principal’s office whereas Jiro made a mad dash to the nurse's office in a manor All Might would be proud of. The rest changed back into their school clothes and went back to their homeroom to wait for the bell to ring. Although Sero had something to say.

“Man, tomorrow’s test won’t be as easy? Did anyone actually find today’s test to be easy?”

“The scaling part wasn’t hard _Ribbit_ ,”

“ **_Speak for yourself!_ **” a bleeding Mineta screamed.

“I say bring it on!” Kirishima was as energetic as ever, clenching his fist. “Challenges like this are why I shot for U.A. to begin with!”

Izuku just went back to his seat and kept quiet. He didn’t feel like talking about his score results, especially with how much Ochako struggled with today’s class. He also decided to not pull out the Hero Historia; between Mina’s presence and class being over in a few minutes, there really isn’t much of a reason to risk it being seen and questioned.

“Oh, Shoto!” Speaking of Mina, “Who are you texting?”

“Someone.”

“But who **_is_ ** that someone? Your dad?”

“He wishes.”

“Come on~”

“If I wanted you to know, I’d have told you.”

“Aw~”

Izuku saw Mina smile through her “sadness” so he thought nothing of it.

**_*Buzz*_ **

_‘Why is my leg vibrating?’_ Izuku’s right hand started searching his pants for whatever could give him the scare. His left hand then facepalmed that he forgot the obvious answer as his right hand found his phone. _‘Right, but who would text me right now?’_

**_Shoto:_ ** _Izuku, after your meeting with Principal Nezu, can you meet me in the locker room? I need your help with something important._

Izuku texted back “sure” (with Shoto sending back a “thanks”), but he had even less of an idea of Shoto could want over the Principal. Izuku then had the forethought to text both his friends about this.

**_Izuku:_ ** _We’re still hanging out today, I just have some things to take care of first. Feel free to start window shopping without me. I’ll text you when I’m done, so you can tell me where you are and I’ll catch up._

Not surprisingly, Iida was the first to answer.

**_Iida:_ ** _Of course, Mirdoriya. I think that could work. I’m sorry today has been inconveniencing you, but it’s great that you are taking things so seriously. As fun as it is for us to socialize and hang out, we are heroes and must prioritize importance, societal issues first regardless of how mundane they may seem. I’m sure Ochako will understand. We’ll be visiting Tooru and Denki afterward, so we might actually still be in U.A. when you’re done._

Iida was always thorough with everything, however, he wasn’t always accurate.

**_Ochako:_ ** _Deku… are you okay? You still want to hang out, right? You’re not trying to blow us off, right?_

Izuku panicked and quickly texted back.

**_Izuku:_ ** _No1 I promis ethat I really want to. Today has just ben hectic, and I have two things to do. I hate having to do this, but I need to see the principal and then Shoto wnats to ask me sometging. If I can then go two mimutes without someone needing my help, then we’ll be able to hang out._

Perhaps a little too quickly; Izuku only had to wait a few seconds for Ochako to respond.

**_Ochako:_ ** _This is why you only have a 93% in English :P_

Izuku looked up to see Ochako in her seat, turned around and smiling at him. He returned the smile, and she turned back around.

**_Ochako:_ ** _But yeah, that actually makes sense. Shoto seems to be acting strangely as of late - you notice?_

**_Izuku:_ ** _No, not really. What do you mean?_

**_Ochako:_ ** _I don’t know, he just seems to be a little more off than usual. Am I just seeing things?_

**_Izuku:_ ** _I don’t know._

The dismissal bell rang.

**_Ochako:_ ** _See you later!_

**_Izuku:_ ** _I promise!_

* * *

Izuku knocked on the door and heard a familiar high-pitched voice. “Come in!” He walked in to see three familiar faces: Aizawa, Nezu, and Sadara. “Ah, young Midoriya of 1-A! Great to see you! Please, sit down, have some tea.” Izuku had heard horror stories about this. Apparently, Nezu can become quite long-winded when tea’s involved, and being a student offered tea usually means it’s your first offense at U.A. The thing is, Izuku can’t think of any rules he’s broken. “I hope today was great. According to your homeroom teacher, your hero training yielded quite ideal results.”

“Mr. Principal,” Aizawa interrupted. “It’s not rational to waste his time with small talk, and Sadara probably has things to get ready for as well.”

“Ah, great point!” Nezu took a long sip of his tea before returning to Izuku. “So it’s safe to assume you still have Sadara’s Hero Historia?” Izuku gulped hard, not expecting that to be the subject (although Sadara being there made a lot more sense now) but pulled the large book out of his bag. “Good! I imagine you know how important that is, right? You’re well aware that villains could come after the village if they discovered exactly who was there, right? You know that Sadara here is trusting you with what must be one of the oldest legacies in our superpowered society, right?” Izuku nodded instantly and heavily. He never exactly put that level of thought into it, but he knew that this book falling into a villains hand would be disastrous. “Ah, nice to know you appreciate the responsibility this means. You’ve certainly taken up plenty as it is. Between looking after **_you-know-who_ ** and mastering **_you-know-what_ **, to also look after this book is a real statement of character.”

“Th-thank you, Mr. Principal.”

“You see, Flaming Shadow over here had told me about you helping her this morning.”

“Yes.” Sadara sounded exhausted. “In agonizing detail.”

Nezu paid her comment no mind. “I also wanted to thank you for that; It looked good on our school and our community.”

“Y-yeah, Iida said s-something along those lines.”

“Good, I hope more of our students take a page from that book. And speaking of books, what have you read and who knows about **_this_ **book?”

“Right!” Izuku opened up the book to the last page he had read before he realized he was late for Aizawa’s class. “I was about halfway through the Vows and Oaths of the Authors.”

“Ah, quite interesting, isn’t it? How much detail and trust go into these books, huh?” Izuku just nodded.

“Now, as for who knows…” Izuku paused, not sure how to say what happened. “Well, a couple people know I have this book, but most don’t know what it is.”

“Besides Iida and Ochako, right?” Nezu’s voice was a bit lower than usual. “I figured you’d tell them what it is, even if there’s really no reason to in this case. This isn’t like looking after **_you-know-who_ ** where their constant presence around you is a must.” Izuku looked down at the ground and thought about it; the principal was right, he really didn’t need to let them know. That book could just have been his and nothing more. He then remembered Ochako looking relieved when he said what it was, and almost wanted to bring that up, but Nezu wasn’t finished yet. “However, so long as you remember what Flaming Shadow and I said, and you remember to tell your friends the rules regarding that book, then I see no issues.”

“Uh… while we’re here, I have a question about this book.” All three Pro Heroes looked at Izuku. “What exactly is the rules regarding using this book being used for homework?”

“Mmm…” Nezu had actually been given a question he wasn’t ready for. “That’s a good question. Aizawa?”

Aizawa looked to Sadara, then to his student. “Yeah, that _is_ a good question. I imagine you’d like to use it for a report?”

“Y-yeah… All Might’s Foundational Hero Studies. This book seems well fit for that class. B-but Sadara said I'm not supposed to repost this - mostly referring to the internet but-”

“Yeah, we get it.” Aizawa and Sadara had a bit of a back and forth before he returned to Deku. “Okay, so for now you can use it for this one assignment, but after that, we’ll have to talk about it further before using it.” Izuku nodded in agreement, seeing this as an agreeable outcome (not that he has a say in it).

“Well, if we don’t have any more setbacks, then we can all leave. I imagine you all have things to do today, right?”

With everyone nodded, the room was dismissed. Aizawa went… somewhere, Izuku isn’t quite sure. Before leaving, he asked Sadara if she was okay. “You look exhausted.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Just had to call Bespin about setting up another book. Which lead to a lot of yelling, despite it being my discretion if you were worth getting a copy.”

“Why would they be mad?”

“Because that was supposed to be the copy for U.A. But if I’m being honest, my village is more annoyed than your principal is.”

Sadara smiled and walked away. Izuku didn’t have much time to ponder as someone was waiting on him. Well, several were, but one situation at a time.

* * *

Izuku opened the door to the locker room, and sure enough, Shoto was there. He was on his phone, playing a game - Tetris based on the sound effects. “Ah, hello Midoriya.”

“Hey, Shoto.”

He put his phone away and looked Izuku in the eyes. “So, are you planning to head to the festival tomorrow?”

“Uh-Uh!” This is hardly what Izuku was expecting. “May-maybe?”

“Maybe? How do you not know?”

“I-I-I still have some things to check out before I can know!” Izuku swiped some sweat off of his face. “Are you going?”

Suddenly, Izuku saw what Ochako was referring to. Shoto was trying to not look him in the eyes, and his posture became more slacking than usual. “Yeah, thanks to my dad.”

_‘This can’t end well.’_

Shoto eventually took in a large breath and looked Izuku dead-on. “Izuku, I need to know your secret.”

“Wh-what?” Izuku doubted Shoto was referring to One-For-All, but he couldn’t think of any other skills he had.

“Izuku, I need to know how you manage to make the girls in our class enjoy your company.”

Izuku heard him but didn’t respond. He was on the floor, his face discovered a new shade of red, and his brain was shutting down all non-mandatory functions to get his heart rate back down into the double digits.

“Mmm… You seem to turn red often. Is that part of your quirk?”

“ **_No!_ ** ” Izuku was still processing what he was asked. “ **_Wh-what would m-make you th-think I know anything about talking to w-w-w-women?_ **”

“You really want to know?” Izuku nodded, perhaps a bit too aggressively. “Well, it started with Mineta.”

_‘Oh boy.’_

“I asked him what he knew about dating. He… well… he certainly knew what made a woman attractive, but showed no signs of knowing how to attract a woman.” Shoto adjusted his collar, clearly being a bit uncomfortable. “So I thanked him for his help and went to Iida for further help, seeing how he was well researched about several subjects. However, he wasn’t of much use by his own admission. He said something… how did he put it? Oh, yeah - “Some things can’t be learned through books. For something like this, it’s best to seek advice from somebody who learns through experience, like Midoriya.” And so I decided to observe.”

“O-Observe?”

“Yeah.”

Izuku bet that Ochako catching him in the act is what she meant by him acting weird as of late. “L-Listen, Shoto - I think you’re mistaken. I-I don’t know the first thing about dating, or women, or-”

“You always hang out with Ochako.”

“We’re best friends, though.”

“So is Iida, and yet I noticed that you seem to be her first choice when there’s something to talk about. Same with Asui. And then there’s Mina and Tooru always wanting to know something about your personal life.”

“They’re like that with everyone.” Izuku had better things to do today than explain himself, and Shoto still had something to answer to. “Listen, what exactly is this all about?”

Shoto sat down on the bench and had a rare look of depression on his face, although he was looking at the floor instead of Izuku. “My dad is going to drag me to the festival tomorrow to look for someone with a “suitable status and quirk for our family.” I’ve been trying the past month to think of a way out of this, but I can’t think of anything that’ll work outside of already being in a relationship.” Shoto finally looked up. “Can you help me convince him?”

Izuku sat the opposite of Shoto and nodded. He didn’t speak right away, wanting to think about what to say before speaking. “Okay, listen. First of all, I still think you’re over-selling me on dating advice. I don’t know what I’m doing to make anyone here like me. Before U.A., I was worthless. How Kirishima and Denki treat Kaachan is how everyone treated me, except a bit worse. I never had a friend, let alone a girlfriend before U.A.” Shoto wasn’t exactly hoping to hear that but kept listening. “Now for the situation at hand, your dad isn’t going to be easy. There’s a lot of ways I could describe him - and with all due respect most of them aren’t nice,” Shoto smiled lightly upon hearing that, “but he’s not stupid. You can’t convince him that you’re into someone. You’re going to have to ask someone who you really want to go with.”

“How do I do that?”

“Well, the best I can say is to just ask her. There’s no trick to this; you’re trying to catch a woman, not a fish.” Izuku adjusted his position in his seat. “In case things go wrong, I’d also prepare to confront your dad. If he already has this much control, I don’t see what you have to lose.”

Both young men stood up to leave, with the conversation clearly being over. Shoto maintained his light smile as he bid Izuku farewell. Izuku pulled out his phone to text his friends that he was done. The responded in the usual order.

**_Iida:_ ** _Ah, good timing. We just finished helping someone out. We came across a woman who had car trouble and needed help too. So, being exemplary students from U.A. we offered our services to help her do her job. She gave us something in return, but we’ll talk about it when you get here. We’re at the Pizza shop just south of the Tatooine Open Market._

**_Ochako:_ ** _OHMYGOSH! Deku! You missed it! The Mos Pizzaera had someone deliver pizza, but the company’s car got sabotaged by some punks. So we decided to do what you did and help her out. When she walked out, I swear Iida went red from head to toe! It was so cute! She was too if I’m being honest. We delivered the pizzas she was going to in her place, and her manager gave us a pass for three to eat here! Hope you're hungry :)_

Izuku put his phone away and ran off to finally enjoy today.

* * *

 

In a dark room, a group stood and sat. Thanks to the poor lighting, only one could be clearly seen. His skin was a light purple, whereas his hands were a dark purple with his clothes matching. He was well built and fairly tall. His pupils were red, and his eye white had a hint of purple to them. His blue tongue licked across his fangs. Just then, a phone hung up and a new figure walked into the light. He was shorter, completely bald, and had rectangular eyes with square black pupils. “Good news, boss. Our client just got enough money in to pay for the job. We can strike today.”

“Good, I’m getting bored. And hungry. Haven’t had a proper fill up in months.” He turned around to face some other figures in the background, although only one could be identified thanks to his glowing eyes - the pupils were red with golden features, and the whites of his eyes were a brilliant yellow. “You guys ready?” The eyes nodded, presumedly with anyone else there. “So boys, let’s visit those hard-working folks at the construction site.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¹In the series, how exactly they pay for lunch is never explained beyond that they technically have to pay. So, using Momo's creation quirk as a baseline, I worked with All Sight (fellow MHA fan) to create a lunch system:
> 
> Rice and small seafood like shrimp are easy for LunchRush to create and thus are free for any student. This is why Ochako almost exclusively orders this.
> 
> Fruits and vegetables are a bit more complicated for him to make, so those cost a little bit of money to order.
> 
> Dairy Products and Meats are the most complicated since they originate from living things and take the most effort to make, so those are the most expensive (by comparison, anyway).

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here's chapter one of my story. Anyway, please feel free to ask any questions you may have, as I'm pretty active here. With that said, here are some things worth addressing:
> 
> Q1.) Wasn't a second Chapter for "A Quirky Family" supposed to be next?  
> A1.) Yes and No. Yes in the sense of that I was planning that, but at the same time, I never intended for there to be more than the one chapter. I only decided to do more since people really took to it. The story was supposed to be a one-off for IzuOcha week (Picture Day) but morphed into its own thing. So will that story get more chapters? Yes, eventually it will. But not right away.
> 
> Q2.) Why isn't this a crossover fic?  
> A2.) The reason it's currently not a crossover fic is two-fold. The first is their limited use since they only will appear in significant roles in 4 of the 10 chapters (and started Next chapter, it's almost strictly MHA characters moving forward). The other is because I'm not sure if this counts. Hear me out: If I didn't call Sadara "Sadara" then would the idea of it being a crossover even cross your mind? Or would you assume I made a character that was a shout-out to another series? But if people think that is really should be labeled as such, I'll go back and change it.
> 
> Q3.) The Archive Warning?  
> A3.) For a later chapter.


End file.
